Who Knew
by TheRealAmeliaPond
Summary: Sometimes life doesn't turn out the way we plan. James and Lily found that out the hard way.
1. Stolen: Part I

**Once again, I realize that I have five or six open stories at the moment, but this one would just not leave me alone, so I decided to post it! Anyway, I hope you like it! And please review!!!!!!**

**Happy Reading,**

**mystrymoviebrunette**

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**Who Knew**

**Chapter 1: Stolen Part I**

"Bartender!" James slurred, swaying on the spot. "More fire whiskey…"

"Mate, don't you think you've had enough?" Sirius said, who just so happened to be the bartender, eyeing him warily.

"Hey," James said, leaning over the counter a little too far, "hey, hey. Do you see Lily right here?" He pointed at the clearly vacant seat next to him.

Sirius sighed. He had heard more than enough about Lily throughout the course of this evening, not to mention for the past couple of months. Not that he didn't love Lily, but James talking about her meant that he _wasn't _getting over her. James had come to his bar every Friday night for the past five months and just binged for a night, trying to forget about Lily before going back his life, where he acted like nothing was wrong.

"No," he sighed, knowing what James's response would be.

"Then I haven't had enough," James said, banging the shot glass down on the counter.

"Prongs, drinking yourself into a stupor won't bring Lily back," Sirius said.

"You're right," James said cross-eyedly, but looking entirely serious and sad. "But the more I drink… the less I think about Lily."

"That's it," Sirius said, taking the shot glass away from James.

"Oh, you…." James said, watching him take away his shot glass sadly, burping. "Yuck…"

"So help me God, if you throw up in here, it will be the last thing you _ever _do in here," Sirius said angrily.

"Oh Padfoot…" James said, shaking a limp hand at him. "Since when did you loose your edge."

"About the same time you lost your mind," Sirius said, spotting his replacement. "C'mon Prongs, my shift is over. I'm taking you home."

"Aw…. do I have to?" James said, stumbling over himself as he attempted to get off the chair. "Whoa."

"Jack!" Sirius shouted at his replacement, waving him over. "Take over. I gotta go."

"Okay," Jack said, going behind the counter.

"Alright, now let's get you home," Sirius said, apparating with James back to their apartment.

The next morning James woke up to the world's most gigantic headache. He never got sick from a hangover, but he felt nauseous as all hell. Every part of his body felt leaden and heavy, like overnight they'd doubled or tripled in weight. All in all, he generally felt like shit.

"Mmmmm," he groaned into his pillow, hating himself for drinking so much.

A knock came at his bedroom door, aggravating his headache. It sounded like it was being amplified a million times to mind-crushing volume.

"Ugh…" James grunted. "Come in."

The door swung open and Scarlett appeared, carrying a platter with a full breakfast. On normal mornings, he'd be singing hosanna to get a breakfast like this, especially from Scarlett—who happened to be a fantastic cook, but rarely ever cooked breakfast. But this morning it was just making his hangover nausea worse.

"Look what I made," Scarlett said in a sing-song voice, setting the platter down on James's nightstand.

"What time is it?" James muttered.

"3:30 pm," she said cheerily. "Okay, I made pancakes, sausage, eggs, bacon, toast, ham, orange juice—"

"Hey Scar," James said, propping himself up with great difficulty. "You're my cousin, and I love you and all, but if you don't stop naming food I'm gonna barf on you."

"—and best of all," she said, grinning as she pulled a vial of bubbling purple potion out of her pocket.

"You are an angel," James gushed, taking the vial from her and swallowing it all in one gulp. "Ah…" he said, feeling the nausea begin to subside the moment the potion hit his stomach. He grinned at Scarlett. _"Did you ever know that you're my hero…"_

"Oh god James," Scarlett said, cringing yet laughing at the same time.

"… _and everything I would like to be… "_

"James, stop singing," Scarlett begged. "Only Bette Midler can pull off that song."

"… _I can fly higher than an eagle…"_

"James, you're gonna make me nauseous!" Scarlett said, half cracking up, half pleading.

"_You are the wind beneath my wings…" _James finished with a goofy grin.

"You are an idiot," she sighed, shaking her head and barely concealing the grin on her face.

"And you are the wind beneath my wings," James said, acting silly.

"Here, you're obviously feeling better, so eat," she said, setting the platter before him. James, suddenly ravenous, began to devour the feast.

"James, you can't keep doing this," Scarlett said, suddenly very quiet and serious.

"Doing what?" James said offhandedly, trying to get Scarlett to drop the subject.

"Going out and getting completely obliterated over Lily," she said.

His spirits immediately fell, and he felt his momentary happiness from his goofy singing evaporate on the spot. That was how it always happened now. It wasn't that he was constantly miserable. He wasn't. He had the potential to be happy at times. He even _was_ happy at times. But that was all he'd get: a couple seconds of simple happiness before he heard Lily's name and he'd feel his heart plunge back into the misery that he felt from her leaving. Most people would say he was lucky, to get these moments of happiness at all. But he saw them as a curse, the constant taunt reminding him that these moments were all he got. Now that Lily was gone, they were all he got.

"Thanks Scar," James said, setting down his fork with a clatter.

"James, goddammit, you have to let yourself get over her!" Scarlett said strongly. James was basically her brother, and her best friend. She hated seeing him so miserable. And she hated Lily, her other best friend, for putting him here. She wanted things to be like they were before, she wanted the four of them—Sirius, James, Lily and herself—to be what they used to be. It seemed an impossible dream now, after Lily had up and left them, left James. "I'm not telling you that you have to get over her right away, but at least stop doing this to yourself! Stop getting drunk and pining after her! You have to accept the fact that she's not coming back!"

"Scarlett, don't you think I know?" James said, frustrated. "Don't you think I've told myself this a million times before? I know she's not coming back! I know she doesn't love me! But that doesn't make it any easier! It doesn't make me stop loving her, as much as I wished it would! And don't pretend to know what this is like, Scar! You've never had the person you love more than anything in the whole world, who you'd lay down your life for, up and leave you for a fucking job!"

"James, I'm sorry," she said quietly after letting his shouts disappear. "I didn't mean… I just hate that this happened to you."

"I know," James said softly, trying to smile.

"I don't want you to act like everything's okay," she told him gently. "Because it's not. What happened to you wasn't fair or right. And you have the right to be angry and sad and sit home moping. It's okay to let life get you down sometimes. But you can't let it keep you down. After a certain point, you have to dust yourself off and keep going." She said nothing for a moment. "It doesn't have to be now. But I'm afraid if you don't start to get up soon, you won't ever."

"Okay." James nodded. Scarlett smiled gently, hugging him before leaving the room.

James picked up a piece of bacon and nibbled on it as he thought. As much as he hated to admit it, Scarlett was right. He was stuck in this place, this vast expanse of nothingness where the only thing that could be found was bittersweet memories and heartache. And Lily. Every time he closed his eyes, he could see her face, haunting him with the dream what might have been. She was everywhere, in everything he saw and everything he felt. He hated it; he hated being constantly reminded of the beautiful, smart, wonderful girl who'd stolen his heart, only to break it. And at the same time, he didn't want it to end. This was the only way to feel like he had a piece of Lily with him, that his obsession with her made him feel like she wasn't really gone. It was the sole connection to Lily he had left, and as much as he hated it, he loved it.

But Scarlett was right. Lily had made it very clear that they were over, and sitting alone in his room all his life, mourning the loss of his first love, would not make her come back. He wanted to be happy. He wanted to be in love again, and the good kind, not this sorry obsession with Lily.

He was determined to be happy, he decided, getting out of bed. With or without Lily.

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**Okay, I realize it may be a little hard to tell where this is going right now, but trust me, you'll see soon.**

**Now review people!**

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	2. Stolen: Part II

**Hey there, my people! Here is the second chapter! I know this is still pretty sad, but what can I say? This is a sad story. Anyway, I really want some reviews people, I got a grand total of three last time and I'd really like some responses. Please people, I'm begging you, reviews, even if you hate it with a fiery passion, review it to tell me that!**

**Happy reading. **

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**Chapter 2: Stolen Part II**

"I'm worried about him," Scarlett said, her arms elbow deep in soapy water.

Scarlett and Sirius were downstairs, Sirius sitting up at the counter eating a very late lunch BLT from the leftover bacon from James's breakfast as Scarlett did the dishes—she always insisted on doing it by hand because she said the spell didn't do a good enough job. Sirius looked up at her, surprised by this sudden announcement after five minutes of complete silence.

"I am too," Sirius said, setting down his fork.

"So?" Scarlett said, glancing at him. "What do we do about it?"

"Scar, we can't do anything," he said patiently. "He has to hash this out himself."

Scarlett said nothing, which Sirius correctly interpreted as Scarlett's 'that-wasn't-what-I-wanted-to-hear' reaction.

"Scarlett…" Sirius said, coming around the counter. He came up behind her and slipped his arms around her waist, resting his head in the nook between her head and her shoulder. "Honeybear…"

"Call me that again I'll castrate you with a plastic spork," Scarlett said, scouring a pot with steel wool and an alarming ferocity.

"Alright," he said hastily, smiling into her hair. He leaned his head down, planting a soft kiss on her bare shoulder. "Love, we can't butt in here."

"There has to be something we can do," she insisted furiously, never looking away from the pot she was scrubbing. "There _has_ to be something…"

"Scarlett," Sirius said firmly, forcing her to put down the pot by turning her around. "I know you don't like feeling helpless, and I don't either. But he _has_ to do this on his own."

She nodded, looking down.

"How could she just leave like this?" Scarlett whispered, still avoiding Sirius's gaze. "How could she leave James like this? How could she leave us? She was supposed to be our best friend and then suddenly… she's just gone without a trace. No notice, no time to deal with it, just a fucking note and a forwarding address, and leaving devastation in her wake, devastation we're gonna have to clean up after…"

Sirius took note of the hardened expression, the clenched jaw, knowing that behind the angry façade Scarlett wanted her best friend back as much as James did.

"It's not good to dwell on this," Sirius said softly. "You just told James to let it go, and you need to do the same."

"Don't you tell me what—" Scarlett started indignantly before being cut off by a kiss. Sirius remained at her lips for a moment, leaving a sweet, lingering kiss, before straying, leaving feather-light, trailing kisses along her jaw and down the line of her neck.

"Hey, you can't just kiss me and hope I'll forget about this…" Scarlett said, her breath shallow and completely unconvincing, although she was trying to sound stern. Sirius's finger went to the strap on her camisole, slipping it off her shoulder. "Oh Jesus Christ Sirius, stop it, I'm still mad at you…"

"Stop talking, Love," Sirius murmured, grinning mischievously. "Show me you're mad some other way." She pursed her lips, trying not to smile.

"C'mon, Black," she said indignantly, angry that she couldn't stay mad at him as she pulled him by his shirt collar into their bedroom.

---

James came downstairs after a while for something to eat. He had just showered, spending two hours trying to wash the gross, sticky hungover feeling from him, and he was now voraciously hungry. He pulled open the refrigerator, glancing through to see if there was anything that struck his fancy. He could've sworn they'd ordered out for pizza before the bar—after the oceanic volumes of liquor he'd consumed, he couldn't remember—but there was an odd absence of pizza in the refrigerator. He decided to ask Sirius about it.

James glanced over at Sirius's bedroom door which was easily visible from the kitchen. Noticing that it was closed, he tossed a grape from the fruit bowl at the door. As he expected, it bounced off before it even hit it. He rolled his eyes good-naturedly, deciding to check one more thing. He walked over to the door.

"FIRE!" he shouted, his lips only mere inches from the door. "OH MY GOD, FIRE! SCARLETT! SIRIUS! GET OUT OF HERE, THERE'S A FIRE!"

Nothing.

James smiled, sitting down at the couch with an apple. There were God knows how many Silencing charms and one huge Imperturbable Charm on that door, and there was only one reason to put the Imperturable/Silencing combo on the door.

Without any warning, James suddenly felt very sad. Not bitter or angry or frustrated, simply very sad. He was of course happy for Scarlett and Sirius and all their happiness, but… he supposed he wanted some for his own. He didn't want to spend all his time trying to remember what it was to be happy or gazing nostalgically at those who knew.

This was not how you lived, hanging in from one happy instant to another. He wanted stretches, expanses, of happiness, the way it'd been when he and Lily had been together.

He checked his watch. 7:00 pm. He nodded to himself, getting up and going to his room. He got dressed to go out.

Lily was over the whole thing, obviously. It was time that he did the same.

---

Scarlett stood on the balcony that came off hers and Sirius's room, watching the very last of the sun slip down under the horizon. To Scarlett, it was the best time of the day during the best time of year: the air was warm but never hot, the summer breeze was gentle and comforting, and the sky was an explosion of color. And she loved spending this time of day right here, so far above the city. It was as though she could watch the hustle and bustle of the street below without getting swept up in it. It was reassuring to her, that the city could keep up it's routine no matter what was going on ten stories above it. No one on the ground knew about the cousin who had lost the only girl he'd ever loved and that she'd left him by means of a note, and somehow she felt like it was supposed to be that way.

Sirius emerged from the room onto the balcony, coming up behind Scarlett, breathing in the scent of her flowery shampoo on her still damp curls and the ivory soap on her freshly showered skin.

"Stop thinking about it," he said softly into her ear.

"How do you know what I'm thinking about?" she asked quietly.

"Because you've got that look on your face." He kissed her on the cheek. "He'll come around."

"I hope so," she mumbled.

---

James walked into the bar and sat himself in his usual seat. Sirius wasn't working tonight, but the replacement from last night, Jack, was.

"Hey," he said cautiously, coming up to James. "We're not gonna have a repeat performance of yesterday, are we?"

"No," James said good-naturedly. "I promise to be a good boy."

"Okay," Jack said, still careful but relaxing a bit. "Can I trust you with a beer, or am I gonna have to keep you on club soda?"

"Better safe than sorry," James said. "But make it a coke."

"Alright," Jack said, walking off to the other end of the bar and bringing him back his drink. James sat there for hours, drinking coke after coke. After approximately fifteen cokes and nearly four hours, a girl came up and sat beside him, flagging down the bartender and asking for a rum and coke. Glancing at her out of the corner of his eye, James could see her curled sandy blonde hair, sea green eyes lined with dark eyeliner, dark, thick eyelashes and pearly white teeth. She was in a sexy black top and a pair of dark wash skinny jeans whose hemline fell over the tops of her fire-engine red Mary Janes. She was just plain gorgeous: tall, thin, tan and inexplicably mesmerizing. She had the look of one of those girls who everyone wanted but no one could have, so full of mystery and allure.

James knew if there was anyone who would keep his mind off of Lily tonight, it would be her.

"Hey," James said smoothly, glancing at her. "What's your name?"

"Well, aren't you forward tonight?" she said with an American accent, which James found even more irresistible.

"Only with a beautiful lady," James said, flashing his world famous James Potter smile. "Now tell me, Love, what's your name?" She started at him with a warm smile, her eyes narrowed as though she was unsure if she should tell him.

"Lorelai," she said softly, smiling in a way that was inexplicably sexy. "Lorelai Seidel."

"Oh, are you William and Amelia's niece?" James asked. The Seidels were a highly influential wizarding family from the States, members of his parents circle of rich families.

"No," she said, laughing coyly. "I'm their daughter." James stared at her for a moment.

"Rory," James said finally, pointing at her. Lorelai glanced down, looking embarrassed. "You're Rory. We met at that Christmas tea at your house when we were fifteen."

"Great, you remember me," she said, rolling her eyes good-naturedly. "That kills my plans for tonight."

"What, why?" James said, poking a little fun at her. "You weren't that big a geek."

"Oh thanks," she said sarcastically. "I was though. A geek. I was odd and strange and ugly."

"You really weren't," James said, in earnest this time. "You were admittedly a little socially awkward, but you were never ugly."

"Yeah?" she said, raising an eyebrow skeptically, though James could tell she was warming up to him. "So tell me James, what are you here drinking about?"

"It's actually just a coke," he said, looking at his drink nostalgically, as though willing it to magically contain any alcohol it could muster.

"Yeah, but you're staring at it like you want nothing more to drown your sorrows in it," Lorelai noted, a knowing look in her eye. "So who are you drinking to?"

"Lily…" James said, tipping his glass towards Lorelai before taking a swig, only to be disappointed when there really was only coke in his glass.

"Ah…" Lorelai said, nodding with a sympathetic grin. "A girl."

"No," James said, shaking his head gently. "The girl."

"Oh…" she said, understanding. "What happened?"

"Lily and I had been together since we were in school," James started slowly, not really believing that he was telling this to someone who was practically a stranger. "Since we were both nearly seventeen. We were… god, we were just right together. There isn't really any other way to explain how we ended up together. We have nothing in common, we fight like cats and dogs, but somehow being together just made more sense than all the other options. When we graduated, we moved in together and everything continued to be good. Up until about five months ago, that is." James paused, forcing himself not to break. "I came home from work, and she wasn't there. See, Lily's worked from our flat, so if she wasn't home, it was a big deal. I went up to our bedroom, and there on the bed was a letter. Folded up into thirds. I took it, sitting down, and read it." James glanced at Lorelai, who was listening attentively. "I'll spare you the whole speech, but she basically told me that she had been offered a job in the States, and she'd had to leave immediately if she had any hope of accepting it. She fed me a bunch of bullshit about it being an amazing opportunity for her, one that would never come around again. She said that she'd realized that I was the only person she'd ever really been with in a real relationship and that she was letting this relationship sabotage the dreams she'd had before us."

"You didn't go after her," Lorelai said, as more of a statement than a question.

"I didn't see much of a point, really," James said, not at all offended by her comment. "She'd made it clear that being with me was keeping her back, and as much as I hate it, I love her and I reckoned… if that makes her happy then who am I to hold her back?"

"Wow," she mumbled softly, her voice kind and somewhat trusting. "That's awfully big of you."

"Yeah," James scoffed bitterly, taking another drink of his coke. "Great for me…" Lorelai said nothing, and took a drink of her rum and coke. She looked at him, watching his heart break all over again. She hadn't been expecting to be this person to someone else, the comforter, especially after having so many people be it for her; but here she was, desperately trying to find a console a man she'd barely even met, and she didn't really mind all that much.

James looked at Lorelai. She seemed so sincere, so real… she wasn't the same mysterious, mesmerizing girl that he'd thought she was. But it wasn't bad; before she'd been untouchable and superhuman, and now she seemed fallible and broken and… amazingly beautiful.

Lorelai didn't dare admit to herself that he'd caused the zero-gravity feeling in her stomach. God, didn't she ever learn? Love was a big nothing, a sorry excuse for people who needed something to believe in. It didn't make the world go round, it didn't make you whole again, and it didn't right all wrongs. All it did was give you a momentary high, a fleeting moment of light and bliss, before taking all you had and leaving you with nothing but the memories of what had been.

But there he was… so fantastically good looking and just as heartbroken as herself. And she felt herself giving in yet again.

James leaned in a little closer to Lorelai, the sweet, clean aroma of honeysuckles filling the air. She felt her heart jump into her throat and leaned in as well. He could see every facet of sea green in her eyes, every tan freckle spattered across her nose and cheeks…

As James kissed Lorelai, with about twenty some-odd witnesses, he felt a shift in the universe. Like some wrong was somehow being righted, something stolen was somehow being returned to its owner. The way James saw it, he'd fallen for Lily because she'd stolen his heart. He hadn't expected it, or even wanted it at first, but she'd held his heart in the palm of her hand, and after that, he couldn't have taken it back even if he'd wanted to. But now, sitting here in this bar, kissing a beautiful and amazing woman, James felt it coming back to him.

Yes, Lily had stolen his heart, even damaged it in the process, but here and now, James had stolen it back.

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**Another chapter should be up soon.**

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	3. Promises

**Hey you guys! Here's your update! Now please review this. I don't know how else to ask for it but I really need some more feedback. **

**Oh and if you guys like my writing please check out my other stories. They need some review love too. **

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**Chapter Three: Promises**

"He certainly got in late last night," Scarlett said, sipping her coffee as she sat on the kitchen counter. "You think he's hungover again?"

"I hope not," Sirius sighed, pouring himself a cup of coffee. "I'll kill Jack if he let him get hammered again."

"It's not Jack's fault, Sirius," Scarlett said, taking her turn to be the rational one, just as Sirius had done for her the previous day. "It's James's. It's not like there's a funnel in James's mouth and Jack is pouring the liquor in by the jug-ful."

"I know…" Sirius said, shaking his head. "I don't know why he lets himself get into this state."

"He's had his heart broken," Scarlett said sympathetically, cradling her coffee in her hands. "I don't know a person alive who acts sensibly after that sort of thing."

"Still, he's got to get over this sometime, right?" Sirius asked, pacing around the small kitchen. "He _will_ get over her, right?"

"I don't know that he's got many other choices," Scarlett said calmly, tucking a ringlet that hadn't found it's way into the pile of hair on top of her head behind her ear. "He's got to or else he'll spend the rest of his life just moping about in his bathrobe, living with us."

"Well, the bit about the bathrobe's a bit depressing, but what's so bad about him living with us?" Sirius asked. "He's your cousin, I thought he was welcome to stay."

"He is," she insisted. "But he's using this as a crutch. He's staying here because he's so afraid of being in his flat alone, and I don't blame him but this really isn't any way to live. And besides he's gonna eventually have to move out, if only to make room for us to have some kids."

"Yeah, well—" Sirius stopped in mid-response, and looked at Scarlett like she'd just confessed to being an alien. Scarlett, realizing what she'd said, clasped her hand over her mouth, as though she wanted to manually keep herself from saying any other absurd comments. "What did you say?"

She shook her head, her hands still pressed over her mouth. She seemed to be saying, "Nothing!"

"Oh no you don't," Sirius said, a little smirk spreading across his face. He walked up to where Scarlett was sitting on the counter, leaning over her knees and looking her straight in the face. "Do you want to marry me, Scarlett Potter?"

"Sirius…" she groaned, slipping off the counter and trying to walk away, but Sirius grabbed her wrist.

"No, Scar," he said firmly, but still wearing that jubilant smirk. "Do you want to marry me?"

"I thought we'd discussed this…" she groaned again, sighing. She didn't dare look at him, for fear of giving in. "We're too young…"

"So?" Sirius asked, still not letting this go. "Do you love me?"

"Of course," she said quietly.

"And did you _not_ just say you've thought about our kids?" Sirius said, clearly on a quest to make Scarlett squirm. She stared at him with her trademark menacing Scarlett glare.

"Yes," she said, glaring at him as though she wanted nothing more to carry out that threat from yesterday regarding the spork. Sirius held up his index finger, as if to say, "Hold on one second," and then ran off to their bedroom.

"Sirius?" Scarlett said confusedly, following him to their room. "Sirius, what are you doing?"

Sirius pulled out a plastic storage case out from under the bed and began rifling through it with the tenacity of a bloodhound tracking a scent until he finally unearthed from it a small dark velvet box. He stood slowly, smiling to no one except the box, before coming back to Scarlett.

"What are you doing?" she asked, her eyes wide like a deer in headlights. Sirius got down on one knee. "Sirius! What are you doing?!"

"Asking you to marry me." Sirius grinned, not abashed at all about Scarlett's less than enthusiastic reaction, taking her hand.

"Sirius!" she says exasperatedly, yanking her hand out of his. "We _cannot_ get married!"

"And why is that?" Sirius asked, not phased at all. In fact, he seemed bemused at Scarlett's reaction.

"Because!" she exclaimed, as though this was the most absurd thing she'd ever heard. "We can't!"

"Scarlett…" Sirius said, standing up and trying to calm her down.

"No, you don't get to 'Scarlett' me, not now!" she said, starting to freak out. "This isn't some stupid fluke that if you discover after we're married that you actually think I'm ugly or have terrible morning breath or that you just wanna sow your wild oats! Okay?! This is my life! Your life! If we get married and you decide this isn't what you want, then it's too late! You don't get to decide it's a mistake! You—"

Sirius leaned in and kissed her, if for no other reason to stop her paranoid rant. After a few moments of very passionate kissing, Sirius's lips trailed away—just as they'd done yesterday—to Scarlett's weak spot: her neck.

"Oh god…" she said, speaking in breathy gasps as Sirius gently pinned her against the wall. "Sirius, dammit, how am I supposed to wear the pants here when that's all you have to do to turn me to putty…"

"Say you'll marry me," he said, grinning into her neck.

"No…" she moaned. "Sirius, be reasonable…"

"Marry me," he repeated in a sing-song voice.

"Sirius…" she whispered, sounding scared enough for Sirius to stop and look at her.

"Darling, what's _really_ wrong?" he asked gently. "This can't be about being too young."

"Promise me," she said, concerned and shaky, looking like she was ready to cry, "promise me you won't leave." Sirius went to open his mouth, only to have Scarlett stop him with a shake of her head. "Don't say anything till I'm done. Promise me you'll always be here. Promise me you'll put up with me when I'm ugly or unreasonable or irrational or angry or scared. Promise me that we'll be old and gray together, and that we'll have a dozen little grandchildren underfoot." She stared at him for a moment. "Promise me you love me."

"I promise," Sirius whispered. Scarlett smiled, starting to cry.

"Then ask me again," she said happily, half-laughing and half-sobbing. He got down on one knee again.

"Scarlett Elise Potter," Sirius said, grinning uncontrollably, "make me the happiest man in the world and marry me."

---

James was fast asleep, lying in a tangled mess over sheets. He had no hangover headache or nausea, but was still immensely tired, like every muscle was made of lead.

"JAMES!" Scarlett screamed excitedly, barreling into his room. "JAMES, WE'RE GETTING—"

James shot up, naked as a person can be, and Lorelai shot up as well, though thankfully covering up with her sheet.

"Oh my god," Scarlett muttered embarrassedly. She glanced from James, who'd just grabbed a throw pillow to cover his manhood, to Lorelai, who looked as though she'd have liked nothing better to evaporate on the spot. She stifled a laugh. "Oh my, I'm sorry."

"Looks like the old James is back," Sirius said, grinning mischievously.

"_Sirius!"_ Scarlett said reproachfully.

"What?" he said tactlessly. "I thought Lily had squashed it, but the Potter Charm is still alive and well, apparently."

"I'm sorry," Scarlett muttered uncomfortably, speaking more to Lorelai than to anyone else as she backed out of the room, dragging Sirius by the ear. "There's breakfast downstairs, if you're hungry."

Lorelai nodded, looking mortified.

"Ow, Scar, that's connected to my head!" Sirius yelped.

"Good to know," she said, closing the door behind her.

After they left, James and Lorelai let a few excruciatingly silent moments pass.

"Wow…" James muttered after about a minute, rubbing his eyes and trying not to look embarrassed. "Last night was… fun."

"Yeah," Lorelai smiled. "Yeah, it was…"

"Yeah," James said, feeling thoroughly embarrassed. He knew it was absurd; last night they'd nearly ripped off each other's clothes—in fact, he was surprised their clothes were still more or less intact, save a few buttons that had burst off in the process—and had completely senseless sex over and over again. But it was now, now that he was trying to speak calmly with her, that he ran into a road block. "Um… about last night…"

"James," she said, stopping him. She sounded calm, collected, and like she knew exactly what she wanted to say, the complete opposite of himself. She smiled at him, trying to put him at ease. "It's alright. I know this isn't the start of some epic romance, all I wanted to get decently laid, just like you."

James breathed a sigh of relief. He felt badly admitting it, but he had been praying she'd say something like that. Not that Lorelai wasn't an amazing woman, because she was. She was smart and intuitive and… god help him, was she gorgeous. But… she wasn't Lily. And as much as he hated to admit it, she was still all he wanted.

"I have a 'Lily' of my own," she said, standing and gathering her clothes. "Well, not a woman named Lily of my own, but you get the idea."

"Oh," James said, suddenly understanding fully what last night had been. He'd thought they'd both simply wanted a night of meaningless yet mind-blowing sex, and that was all. But they'd both been trying to forget, trying to run away from these people who'd captured their hearts only to be torn away from them. "What's his name?"

"Nick," she said simply, staring at the wall before letting her eyes dart up to meet his.

James didn't say anything. He knew she didn't want to hear that he was sorry. She didn't want to hear that she deserved better, or that all will be better in time. He knew this because he'd heard it all himself, and it didn't help a bit. 'Sorry' didn't make the pain go away; he knew he deserved better, but he still loved her; and time didn't heal a thing, because he'd given it time, and not only had it not gone away, but it wasn't getting any better either.

"Okay, I think I'm gonna head out," Lorelai said, having finished pulling on her jeans and her top. She made to go to the door, but stopped for a moment before adding: "Hey, I know we're not made for the whole romance thing, but I could really use someone to talk to every now and again. Do you mind?"

"Of course," James said without even giving it a second thought. It was the least he could to for someone who could made him forget about Lily for even a few moments. "Owl me anytime."

"Thanks," she said, smiling softly. She awkwardly walked over to him, and gave him a hug. She pulled away and took a few steps back. "For everything."

"What did I do?" James asked good-naturedly.

"You're here for me," Lorelai said, smiling softly. "Sometimes it's just nice to know you're not alone."

Lorelai headed to the door, but stopped as she was halfway out to look back.

"And believe me," she assured him, "you're not alone. I promise."

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**Did you like it? I loved writing this chapter, especially Sirius's proposal. I really didn't want it to be one of those perfect cliche proposals where she says yes right away. I wanted it to be thoroughly dysfunctional but cute, just like the pair of them. :) **

**Now please review. Even if you hate this story with every fiber of your being, review to tell me that. **

**Oh btw, I'm SOOO excited about the last book coming out tonight! I'm going in full costume with my friend and it's gonna be awesome!!!!!!!**

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	4. Count Your Blessings Now

**Hey there people! **

**Sorry it's been so long since I've updated for this story. I just have not been having a whole lot of inspiration right now for this. But now I'm back and hopefully this story will start moving a bit faster. Lol.**

**Alright, big things happening in this chapter!!!!!! Read on, my friends, read on! **

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**btw: the title to this chapter does not appear in this chapter, however it just seemed appropriate. first person to tell me where it's from gets a special prize!**

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**Chapter 4: Count Your Blessings Now**

_James,_

_Have some news. Would really like to discuss it with you. Meet me at Geraldine's at six tonight. Send your response as soon as possible._

_Lorelai_

James continued to stare at the note. It had arrived a few minutes ago, by means of Lorelai's little Scops owl, Cassiopeia, and ever since he had not taken his eyes off it.

Neither had Sirius and Scarlett—who'd been in the room during Cassiopeia's entrance and had unceremoniously read the note over James's shoulder—but to steal questioning glances at each other as to what this could mean.

Since James and Lorelai's one night stand at the beginning of May, their relationship had quickly bloomed into a strong friendship. James had never trusted anyone this quickly before, but every time he told himself to keep this in check, Lorelai's big brown eyes were just so honest and he couldn't help but spill his guts to her. They both still held fast in their pact not to make things romantic, and neither had really felt an urge to go against it.

But this note was really disconcerting. Normally, whenever Lorelai needed to say something or discuss something, there was no forewarning involved. She would simply show up. So a message saying that she needed to chat was a major red flag.

"She's giving us a warning?" Scarlett said, mildly surprised, apparently reading James's mind as she read the note over his shoulder. She emitted a high-pitched "Hm," and walked into the living room, settling onto the couch with her omnipresent cup of hazelnut coffee. "That must be a sign of the apocalypse…"

"It must be serious," James mumbled, not taking his eyes off the letter. "Whatever it is."

"Maybe it's a date," Scarlett suggested, twisting around on the couch to waggle her eyebrows at James teasingly.

"Scar…." James sighed impatiently, though he wasn't angry. He had written the words 'See you there' on a scrap of paper and was now tying it to the owl's leg. "Give it a rest."

"Fine," she said obediently, although she was still wearing that smirk of hers.

James shook his head, chuckling a bit as he sent Cassiopeia back through the kitchen window. Ever since Scarlett had caught him and Lorelai in bed, she had been on an ongoing vendetta to prod the two together, convinced that they were each other's key to happiness. James found it rather trying at times, but Lorelai seemed to find it rather amusing. Whenever she would witness one of Scarlett's little episodes of temporary insanity, she would simply go along with it, clinging to James like a cheap suit and giggling far too loudly and annoyingly to be mistaken as genuine, only to laugh her ass off about it once the two were alone.

"Must you encourage her?" James had asked her after her last little performance.

"Oh grow a sense of humor," she'd responded with a smile. "She means well."

That was how Lorelai was about most things: very 'c'est la vie', 'que sera, sera', and a bunch of other french phrases about going with the flow.

That's why this note made no sense.

James shrugged. He'd find out what this was about soon enough.

"Hey," Lorelai said with a smile, giving James a hug. "How are you?"

"Good, you?" he asked.

"Fine," she conceded, nodding her head. "Well we should probably sit."

"That would be the usual protocol," James said, sitting down.

Lorelai sat down as well, and immediately took a sip of her water. She didn't seem at all anxious to share why she'd called him here. For a minute, they simply sat there.

"So…" James asked, deciding to break the silence.

"So," Lorelai repeated, using the same tone as James. She kept trying to smile, only to have it quickly replaced by a nervous grimace a moment later.

"Is everything alright?" James asked cautiously.

"Uh…" she said, thinking about it intently for a few moments. "You know… I don't think so."

"What's wrong?" he asked, concerned. She immediately glanced down at her empty place setting.

"I…" she started off only to trail off an instant later. She shook her head and laughed a small, slightly bitter smile. "God, I'm stupid… it shouldn't be this hard…"

"You're not stupid," James said automatically. "C'mon, Lor, just tell me."

She simply stared right at him for a moment. Her face was fixed in an unemotional expression that seemed to be held together with duct tape and sheer luck, but her eyes looked so tired and sad. She seemed to be savoring the moment, absorbing this one final instant where he didn't know what she was about to say.

"I'm pregnant."

Shock hit James like a Bludger barreling at him at 100 mph. There were thoughts, so many thoughts… he couldn't keep the flood back. A baby… Lorelai… Mum and Dad…

Lily.

"You're… and I'm… I…" James sputtered. He wanted it all to stop, he wanted all these thoughts to stop bombarding him and let him just _think_ for a moment. His heart was beating a million miles an hour and his stomach was churning and everything was swirling around him so fast and so loud and he just wanted it all to stop….

"James—" Lorelai reached across the table to grab his hand.

"I'm sorry," she whispered, her detached façade shattering like glass. Her eyes were brimming with tears. "I'm so sorry…"

"Stop," James said. He could not stand to sit here and listen to her apologize, especially when it was not her fault.

And especially when her apology would do nothing to change anything.

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